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Old 06-18-2014, 04:39 PM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,758,585 times
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Careful here folks. The OP mentioned horses. That my friends is a different animal. Yes, that was a pun. Anyway, it is very doable. Price depends on condition of the home. If you are looking at a really bad home with good land, maybe you can get something for around $200K in the region you want. Oddly, if you move further out, I have found it doesn't get that much cheaper. There are some odd little areas like West Deer and Fawn that aren't too expensive, but it has been a while since I have looked up that way.

Pros and cons. Less sun than what you are used to and the weather might not be as nice. More humid.
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Old 06-18-2014, 05:05 PM
 
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My sister bought 10 acres and built a nice mid-size house for a very reasonable price by managing the project themselves and bidding out various phases. Five years later, they built a huge detached garage and a bar. Five years after that, as their family grew, they built an addition that was twice the size of the original house. That might sound strange, but you can't even tell there is an addition because the original house was designed with blueprints for expanding in the future. Building in phases might be something to consider to stay within your budget.
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Old 06-18-2014, 05:39 PM
 
995 posts, read 1,108,518 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mugatu View Post
Mini farm? Why not go all out? lol

http://goo.gl/maps/Cqluj

This doesnt look like much in street view, but in person this looks like a Norman Rockwell painting. This is a huge farm in Oakdale. You can see the cows grazing up on the hill from highway 22/30. It's 14 miles from downtown and a just a 20 minute drive in light traffic (probably 40-45 mins in rush hour). There are miles of space for farmland out here west of the city. My manager lives in Mcdonald, PA (19 miles to downtown Pgh) and raises goats at her home. Your needs can definitely be met here.
A long time ago, my oldest son was in Cub Scouts with the son of the owner of this farm and we went on several tours of the barns, with hayrides included. Picture sitting on a flatbed trailer surrounded by bales of hay, pulled by a tractor up Very Steep hills.
I spent those rides terrified that we'd all land on our rears in the mud, rolling down the hill behind us. The farm was founded in the late 1700's, it's painted on the side of the barn which you can see from Oakdale Road. Oh, and believe me, everybody in a 5 mile radius knows when they fertilize. I'm sure the people driving along on 22/30 wonder why their hair starts to curl...
I think it may be the only full-size working dairy farm left in Allegheny County.
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:24 AM
 
Location: somewhere near Pittsburgh, PA
1,437 posts, read 3,758,302 times
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AnneWest, thanks for the info. When I see those cows way up on the steep hill above 22/30 I always wonder how they climbed up there. I imagine them stumbling and rolling down the hill onto the highway. lol
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
3,296 posts, read 3,852,982 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitt Chick View Post
A bit far-fetched... unless you are willing to do a slightly longer commute.
And the cost. West or East of the city is better. I can't believe people are recommending North and South of the city. The cost of land will be sky high.
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Old 06-19-2014, 10:25 AM
 
Location: Beaver County
1,273 posts, read 1,629,416 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluecarebear View Post
And the cost. West or East of the city is better. I can't believe people are recommending North and South of the city. The cost of land will be sky high.
What we paid was hardly sky high . I have seen numerous places in Butler that have been reasonable.
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Old 06-19-2014, 10:29 AM
 
Location: O'Hara Twp.
4,359 posts, read 7,477,564 times
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10 years ago I looked at a farm in West Deer with 60 acres for under 100,000. Stuff like that doesn't exist today.

I think to get a decent farm you are spending at least 200,000K.
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Old 06-19-2014, 08:18 PM
 
43,011 posts, read 107,590,543 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluecarebear View Post
And the cost. West or East of the city is better. I can't believe people are recommending North and South of the city. The cost of land will be sky high.
That's not true. My sister and SIL didn't pay sky high prices for their land in the north.


Quote:
Originally Posted by robrobrob View Post
10 years ago I looked at a farm in West Deer with 60 acres for under 100,000. Stuff like that doesn't exist today.

I think to get a decent farm you are spending at least 200,000K.
200k is a good price for a decent farm. That's not expensive for a house and multiple acres.
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Old 06-19-2014, 08:51 PM
 
995 posts, read 1,108,518 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mugatu View Post
AnneWest, thanks for the info. When I see those cows way up on the steep hill above 22/30 I always wonder how they climbed up there. I imagine them stumbling and rolling down the hill onto the highway. lol
They have broken thru the fence and gotten down to the highway. Not recently, I don't think but...yeah.
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Old 06-20-2014, 05:53 AM
 
Location: Beaver County
1,273 posts, read 1,629,416 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
That's not true. My sister and SIL didn't pay sky high prices for their land in the north.



200k is a good price for a decent farm. That's not expensive for a house and multiple acres.
I think it would be hard to find a " descent" farm ( which I view as a move in ready 3/2 house, proper utilities, fencing, & barn on minimum of 5 acres ) within a "realistic " hour of the city for any less than 300,000. Of course what is " descent" and " sky high" varies from person to person. The comps they used for our appraisal were over three counties simply because such properties are not common. ( (Now I want even more land ...but that simply ain't happening..although our neighbor offered a few acres for us to use.)

Of course one could just get a small or fixer house on acreage and build the other amenities over time but that is not what I would consider a "farm" initially. For a young industrious couple with appropriate skills this would be a great start.
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